How Jamie Lost 38 lbs in 100 Days Client Results
Jamie lost 38 pounds in 100 days inside The Call To Rise. He works construction for 50-plus hours a week and travels for days at a time. Coach Brian calls him one of the biggest losers he has had in 23 years.
Jamie lost 38 pounds in 100 days inside The Call To Rise. He works construction for 50-plus hours a week and travels for days at a time. He did it on chicken thighs, canned peas and rice. Listen to Episode 140 for the full conversation.
Jamie Started With No Plan for Food
Jamie works outside in the heat. His weeks run 50-plus hours. Some weeks he is gone two, three or four days for work.
He named the problem himself in one line. "I just don't know how to eat. Well, I didn't know how to eat."
Food came from wherever he happened to be standing. On the road he ordered chicken wings and pizza. Vegetables were not part of any of it. When Coach Brian asked about the green stuff, Jamie named the celery that comes on the side with the wings.
Sleep was in worse shape than the food. Jamie called himself an insomniac when the two of them started. Some Sunday nights he got two hours before a Monday morning. His average sat around three to four hours.
Coach Brian has been coaching for 23 years. He calls Jamie one of the biggest losers of that entire career over a stretch this short.
What He Had Tried Before Was Eating Less
Ask Jamie what he had tried for weight loss before this and the answer is fasting.
His version of it had no structure behind it. "I would just literally eat as little as I could and use up all the energy I had during the day," he said.
Then he got home with nothing left in the tank. Some nights he ate hardly anything. Other nights he stacked most of a day's food into one late meal of pasta and starch.
He was starving himself and the weight stayed on. He was eating far less than before and losing far slower.
Coach Brian sees that pattern in most of the men who come to him. They have tried fasting or keto or cutting carbs. Every one of those stalled.
The Food That Replaced It
Jamie eats two chicken thighs at lunch most days. Some days three.
He picked thighs over breast because they cook easier and come out juicier. Coach Brian let him keep them. A thigh carries slightly more fat and a little less protein than a breast. That gap is small enough that no man has to eat chicken breast exclusively to get results.
Alongside the thighs he has a can of peas and a cup of rice or a potato. That is his lunch. He still eats it today.
Nothing on that plate is a specialty item. Coach Brian's summary of the whole 100 days is that they used no hacks and no fads.
Why Canned Vegetables Were the Right Call for Him
Jamie ate a lot of canned vegetables. Coach Brian called that out as the piece that made this plan fit Jamie specifically.
Canned peas and canned green beans open in seconds. They travel. They ride in a work truck for days without going bad. For a man who is on a job site or in a hotel four days a week that beats fresh produce that rots in a bag.
The sodium question comes up every time this gets mentioned. A can of peas carries far less sodium than an order of McDonald's french fries. Rinse them off and eat them.
Coach Brian looks for behaviors a man can repeat for years. A canned vegetable a guy will eat every day does more for him than a fresh one he throws out on Friday.
The Calorie Range Behind the 38 Pounds
Jamie tracked his calories. Not every client of Coach Brian's does, and that call gets made per man based on his skills and what he wants.
Jamie generally ate around 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. The range moved with how much he did that day. Construction burns more than a desk job does and his food had to account for that.
Jamie ate more food than he had been eating before, and he lost 38 pounds doing it. "I saved money, I ate more, in my opinion," he said.
Coach Brian asked him directly whether he had starved through it. Jamie said no.
He Sent a Photo of Almost Every Meal
Dozens and dozens of meal photos went to Coach Brian across the 100 days. Jamie sent one pretty much every day.
That habit is the accountability piece. A photo takes seconds to send. It gives a coach something real to correct instead of a guess at the end of the week.
Jamie also leaned on the group of men in the app. He would scroll the feed for encouragement and send Coach Brian questions as they came up.
Coach Brian framed his own job on the episode this way. He can hand a man a fish and he still has to teach him to fish. So the 100 days carried a lot of education about food and a lot of back and forth.
Two skills got built along the way that had nothing to do with a gym. Cooking and cleaning. Jamie was not strong at either one when they started. A clean kitchen made the cooking easier, and Jamie now cooks a full week of lunches and dinners in one session.
What Changed Besides the Number on the Scale
Sleep. Jamie averaged six hours or better through the last month and a half. He came in averaging three to four. He also wakes up half an hour to an hour earlier than he used to.
Energy. He can bend, twist and move through a full day of work now. He drives a lot and gets in and out of a truck constantly. He described feeling younger and having less brain fog.
Digestion. Jamie had real gut problems at the start. Once he started eating fibrous food he got more control in the morning and less bloating. Coach Brian pointed out what that does to a man socially. Not knowing how your stomach will react keeps you from saying yes to things.
Waist size. It went down along with the bloating.
Strength. He kept his strength through the whole cut. He trained during the 100 days on top of moving all day at work, so he lost fat while the muscle underneath stayed.
The Guitars Behind Him
Coach Brian noticed two guitars hanging on the wall behind Jamie on the recording.
Jamie is learning to play. He also started cleaning his living room and his kitchen and picking things up around the house again. Small things he had stopped doing.
That is what the extra energy bought him. His old evenings went to sitting up because he could not sleep. He spends them on the guitar and the house now.
His Son Is 13 and Watching
Jamie has a 13-year-old son who is with him on weekends. His son's mom is a nurse and handles that side of things well.
What Jamie wants now is to be useful there too. He can teach his son how to eat for the activities he does and where his energy comes from. He said it would make them both feel positive about it.
Coach Brian has a 13-year-old of his own who has started asking him workout questions. They do abs together out in the barn where he records. What he wants for his own kids is that they stay independent and take care of themselves instead of running low on energy from poor eating.
Jamie also loves lifting, and his son is coming up on the age where that starts to interest a kid.
Common Mistakes Men Make Here
Eating less and less. Jamie's old approach was to eat as little as possible during the day. He lost slower doing that than he did on 2,000 to 2,500 calories.
Waiting for a schedule that never calms down. Jamie travels for work and puts in 50-plus hour weeks. The 100 days happened inside that schedule.
Ruling out canned and frozen food. Canned peas got Jamie his vegetables for the first time in years. Fresh does not help a man who is never home.
Believing chicken breast is the only option. Jamie ate thighs the whole way and dropped 38 pounds.
Treating sleep as a separate project. Jamie fixed his food first. His sleep went from three to four hours up to six or better without a sleep protocol.
Who This Is For and Who It Is Not For
This is for the man over 40 with a demanding job and no system for food. He travels or works long days. He has tried cutting way back and got nowhere with it.
It is also for the guy who thinks his schedule disqualifies him. Jamie was gone up to four days a week and still ran the plan.
It is not for a man looking for a 30-day sprint. Jamie did 100 days of steady work, and Coach Brian says the two of them still have more to do together.
It is not for a man who wants a shot or a hack. Jamie's results came from whole food, portion control and repeating the same few meals.
Where Jamie Landed After 100 Days
- 38 pounds down inside The Call To Rise
- Sleeping six hours or better instead of three to four
- Waking up 30 to 60 minutes earlier
- Eating around 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day
- Prepping a full week of lunches and dinners in one cooking session
- Strength held and muscle showing through
- Learning guitar again
His advice to a man in the same spot was short. "I would definitely tell them to try it, if they have the opportunity. It's a no brainer."
Cross-episode links
- Episode 53: 38 lbs Lost in 100 Day Challenge covers Andy, another Call To Rise client who lost 38 pounds in the same 100 days.
Call to Action
Jamie's first move was learning what belonged on his plate. If you want a short version of that to run this week, the free Lose 3 lbs in 3 Days plan gives you three days of food and training structure. Get it at thecalltorise.com/lose3lbsin3days.
When you want the full build, The Call To Rise is Coach Brian's 100 day program for driven men who want their health at the level their work is already at. It runs on three moves. Find the real reason your fat loss stopped. Build your food and your training around a 47-year-old body instead of a 27-year-old one. Then run it for 100 days alongside other men doing the same thing.
Inside it you get an individualized meal plan, an individualized training plan, weekly round table calls with the group, 1:1 calls with Brian, and a client site with every resource in one place. The average man who works with Coach Brian for the full 100 days loses 20 or more pounds. The guarantee is one sentence. Lose 20 or more pounds in the 100 days, or Brian keeps working with you until you do. Apply at thecalltorise.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much weight did Jamie lose on Driven For Health episode 140?
Jamie lost 38 pounds in 100 days inside The Call To Rise. Coach Brian calls him one of the biggest losers of his 23 year coaching career over a span this short. Jamie also improved his sleep from three to four hours a night to six or better.
Can you lose weight working 50 hours a week and traveling for work?
Jamie works construction for 50-plus hours a week and is gone two to four days some weeks. He lost 38 pounds in 100 days inside that schedule. His plan ran on food he could prep ahead and carry with him, including canned vegetables that hold up in a work truck.
Are canned vegetables good for fat loss?
Canned vegetables were a central part of Jamie's 100 days because he travels for work. Canned peas and green beans open in seconds and keep on the road. Coach Brian points out that a can of peas has far less sodium than an order of McDonald's french fries, and you can rinse them before eating.
Can you eat chicken thighs instead of chicken breast and still lose fat?
Jamie ate two to three chicken thighs at lunch most days and lost 38 pounds. A thigh carries slightly more fat and a little less protein than a breast. Coach Brian's position is that the gap is small enough that no man has to eat chicken breast exclusively to get results.
How many calories did Jamie eat to lose 38 pounds?
Jamie generally ate around 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day, with the number moving based on how much he did. His construction job burns more than a desk job does, so his food had to cover that. He ate more food than he had been eating before the program.
Does fixing your nutrition help you sleep better?
Jamie came in as a self-described insomniac averaging three to four hours a night. Through the last month and a half of his 100 days he averaged six hours or better. He also started waking up 30 to 60 minutes earlier with more energy through the day.
Does fasting work if you have a physical job?
Jamie's version of fasting was eating as little as possible and burning through the day on empty. He lost weight slower doing that than he did eating 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. Coach Brian had him eat real food in the right amounts instead.
What is The Call To Rise?
The Call To Rise is Coach Brian Parana's 100 day fat loss challenge for driven men who want their health at the level their work is already at. It includes an individualized meal plan, an individualized training plan, weekly round table calls, 1:1 calls with Brian, and a client site with every resource in one place. The average man who works with Coach Brian for the full 100 days loses 20 or more pounds, and the guarantee is that you lose 20 or more pounds in the 100 days or Brian keeps working with you until you do.
CEO l Head Body Tranformer
Brian Parana is a men’s health coach with 23+ years of experience helping busy professionals improve their body, energy, and day-to-day habits while still leading at work and at home. His coaching is built around practical nutrition, training, sleep, and accountability, with a plan tailored to the person in front of him.
Over the years, Brian has helped thousands of clients through his work as a personal trainer, CrossFit gym owner, and online coach. He has also coached an Olympic silver medalist, a 2-time Olympian, and a CrossFit World Champion.
Brian is the host of the Driven For Health Podcast, where he shares real-world strategies for men who want to feel strong again and stay consistent without making health a second job.
He’s also the creator of The Call To Rise, a 100-day fat loss experience for driven men who want to drop 20–30 pounds, boost energy, and rebuild confidence through strength training, personalized nutrition, and high-accountability coaching. Many men join because their blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar is heading the wrong direction, and they want a clear plan that fits real life.
Brian is married to his high school sweetheart, Amber, and they have four kids. Their family has traveled to all 50 states and 4 continents, with a goal to reach all seven.
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